What Keeps You Going?

This is a question that I ask myself whenever I am feeling discouraged and far from my goal. "What keeps you going?"

In life, there seems to be a certain process that we all follow. Grow, learn, work, earn, and survive. It's easy to fall into the daily grind and eventually lose ourselves to the rhythm. At times, life leads us towards a different direction that is hugely different from our goal - but this does not necessarily mean that we are failing. I certainly did not imagine myself as a recruitment professional when I was young (in fact, far from it!), yet while my career is different compared to what I have imagined before - I am contented.

However, working should not be solely about money. While it is an easy justification since money can buy pretty much anything we want, what we need is to find our purpose and passion to keep going. As we take on our daily obstacles - stress at work, financial obligations, personal issues and such, we sometimes feel as though the weight of the world rests on our shoulder. And when we find ourselves going back to the same question, let us be reminded of our motivation. Let us remember that there are a lot of things out there that we can still have, achieve, learn, and experience.

When I ask myself this question during stressful times, I pause for a moment and I am reminded of how I have always wanted to make a difference. And being a recruiter, I am in a position to do so - I help people in securing jobs. While this may be a small thing to some, I cannot help smiling when I recall the happy faces of the people who our team has hired - either because they have been job-hunting for months, are in dire need of a career change, or they have just landed their dream job. And it definitely brings me fulfillment to know that I may have bridged them closer towards their goal. And on a more personal note, I move forward because I want to experience more of life and improve myself, so that eventually I can look back and see how far I have come.

And I think to myself, "This. This is what keeps me going."

Instantly, I feel much lighter and more ready to tackle another day.